it is, that my late inactivity has made so small a progress, that, in the "History of Trades," I am not advanced a step, finding, to my infinite grief, my great imperfections for the attempt, and the many subjections which I cannot support, of conversing with mechanical capricious persons, and several other discouragements; so that, giving over a design of that magnitude, I am ready to acknowledge my fault, if, from any expression of mine, there was any room to hope for such a production farther than by a short collection of some heads and materials, and a continual propensity of endeavouring, in some particular, to encourage so noble a work as far as I am able; a specimen whereof I have transmitted to Mr. Hartlib, concerning the ornaments of gardens, which I have requested him to communicate to you, as one from whom I hope to receive my best and most considerable furniture, which favour I do again and again humbly supplicate, and especially touching the first chapter of the third book, the eleventh and twelfth of the first, and indeed on every particular of the whole." Whoever would be better acquainted with the whole extent of our author's project, may consult his extract of the life of signor Giacomo Favi, who had the like, and intended to have travelled over the whole world, in order to collect proper materials; in which design having made some progress, he died of a fever at Paris. Of this gentleman Mr. Evelyn speaks in raptures, from the similitude between their tempers; but it seems he had not altogether the patience of that Italian virtuoso, who could accommodate himself to the humours of the lowest of the people, as well as make himself acceptable even to the greatest monarchs of Europe. But, though our author desisted from the original plan, yet it was not till he had finished several parts of it, particularly his Chalcography, which Mr. Boyle prevailed upon him to publish, and the following pieces which he never published: "Five Treatises, containing a full view of the several arts of painting in oil, painting in miniature, annealing in glass, enamelling, and making marble-paper." We may form a judgment, from the piece he published, of the great loss the world had from his not altering his resolution with respect to these, which no doubt were as thoroughly finished and as perfect in their kind as that. We may collect from the letter before mentioned, that a system of gardening made a part of his great design, which, however, there are some grounds

to believe, he detached thence, and considered as a whole or distinct system of itself, to the completing of which he applied himself with great spirit and labour, and intended to have given it the following title, under which he shewed part of his collection to his friends: "Elysium Britannicum." We cannot positively affirm, but there are very probable grounds to believe, that this was the very same work, of which he has given a plan before his "Acetaria," about which he intimates, in his preface to that treatise, he had spent upwards of forty years, and his collections for which had in that time filled several thousand pages. The title of this vast work, as it is there expressed, is this: "The Plan of a royal Garden: describing and shewing the amplitude of that part of Georgicks which belongs to Horticulture." He proposed to divide this into three books, the first of which was to consist of six chapters, wherein he meant to discourse of the principles of things, the four reputed elements, the celestial influences, the seasons, the natural soil of a garden, and all the artificial improvements that could be made therein. The second book was to contain twenty-four chapters, and of these it is sufficient to say, that the twentieth chapter seems to have been executed in his discourse of sallads, and that the last chapter of this book was no other than his Gardener's Kalendar. The third book was to be divided into twelve chapters, and to comprehend all the accessaries, so as to leave nothing which had so much as any relation to this favourite subject unexhausted. The cause of his leaving this work also unfinished, he very freely and plainly tells us, was his perceiving that it exceeded his whole power of execution, that is, to come up to the scheme formed in his own mind, notwithstanding his glorious spirit, his easy fortune, and indefatigable diligence. This we may very easily credit, when we consider that his treatise of sallads could not be above a fortieth, perhaps not above a fiftieth part of his intended performance. To these his unpublished works we must add another, mentioned only by Mr. Wood, who gives us nothing concerning it but the following title: "A treatise of the Dignity of Man."

1

EVELYN (JOHN), third son of the former, was born at his father's house at Sayes-court, near Deptford, January 14,

1 Biog. Brit.-MS papers relating to the family, obligingly communicated by Mr. Upcott, sub-librarian of the London Institution.

1654-5, and was there very tenderly educated in his in fancy, being considered (after the death of his brother Richard Evelyn, January 27, 1657, who, though but five years of age, was esteemed a kind of prodigy) as the heir of the family. He was likewise universally admired for the pregnancy of his parts, of which he gave a pleasing proof in a Latin letter written to his father in Dec. 1665, and which induced his father to send him in 1666 to Oxford, where he remained in the house of the ingenious and learned Dr. Ralph Bathurst, then president of Trinity-college, before he was admitted a gentleman-commoner, which was in Easter term 1668. It is not clear at what time he left Oxford; but Mr. Wood seems to be positive that he took no degree there, but returned to his father's house, where he prosecuted his studies under the directions of that great man. There is, however, good reason to believe that it was during his residence in Trinity-college, and when he was not above fifteen years of age, that he wrote that elegant Greek poem which is prefixed to the second edition of the Sylva, and is a noble proof of the strength of his genius, and wonderful progress in learning in the early part of his life. In Nov. 1675, he set out for Paris with lord Berkley, ambassador to the French court; and in May 1676, returned to England. He discovered his proficiency soon afterwards, both in the learned and modern languages, by his elegant translations, as well as his intimate acquaintance with the muses, in some original poems which were very justly admired. If we consider the father's turn of mind, we need not wonder that he should employ his pen first upon gardening, especially in the easy way of translation, and from a book so justly as well as generally admired as the French jesuit's has ever been. The title of our author's little treatise was, 1. "Of gardens, four books, first written in Latin verse, by Renatus Rapinus; and now made English by John Evelyn, esq." 1673, 8vo. His father annexed the second book of this translation to his "Sylva," and it must be allowed that the sense is very faithfully rendered, and the poetry is more easy and harmonious than could have been expected from a youth of his age, 2. "The life of Alexander the great," translated from the Greek of Plutarch, printed in the fourth volume of Plutarch's lives by several hands. 3. "The history of the grand visiers, Mahomet and Achmet Coprogli; of the three last grand signiors, their sultanas, and chief

&c. Lond. 1677, 8vo.

favourites; with the most secret intrigues of the seraglio," This was a translation from the French, and has been esteemed an entertaining and in structive history. Our author wrote also several poems occasionally, of which two are printed in Dryden's Miscellanies, and more are in Nichols's Collection of Poems. The one entitled "On virtue," has been esteemed excellent in its kind by the best judges; and the other, styled "The remedy of love," has been also much admired. On Feb. 24, 1679-80, he married Martha, daughter and coheiress of Richard Spenser, esq. Turkey merchant, whose widow married sir John Stonehouse, of Radley, in Berks, bart. Mr. Evelyn, who had a turn for business as well as study, and had been introduced to the prince of Orange in 1688, was in 1690 made one of the chief clerks of the treasury, and quitting that situation in 1691, became one of the commissioners of the revenue in Ireland, which country he visited in 1692. He would probably have been advanced to higher employments if he had not been cut off in the flower of his age, dying at his house in Berkeleystreet, London, March 24, 1698, in the forty-fifth year of his age. He had by his wife two sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Richard, died an infant at Sayes-court, as did his eldest daughter Martha Mary. His second daughter, Elizabeth, married Simon Harcourt, esq. eldest son and heir of Simon lord viscount Harcourt, lord high chancellor of Great Britain, by whom she became mother to the first earl Harcourt. Jane, his third daughter, died an infant at his house in the parish of St. Martin's in the fields, and was interred at Kensington. John Evelyn, his second and only surviving son, born at Sayes-court, March 2, 1681, succeeded to his grandfather's estate. He was married at Lambeth chapel, September 18, 1705, to Anne, daughter of Edward Boscawen, of Worthivil, co. Cornwall, esq. He was by letters-patent bearing date July 30, 1713, created a baronet. This worthy gentleman, who inherited the virtue and learning as well as the patrimony of his ancestors, made several alterations and additions to the family-seat at Wotton, in 1717, one of which was the erecting a beautiful library, forty-five feet long, fourteen feet broad, and as many high, for the reception of that large and curious collection of books made by his grandfather, his father, and himself, and where they still remain. He was long one of the commissioners of the cus

toms, a fellow of the royal society, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John, who dying in 1767, was succeeded by sir Frederick Evelyn, on whose death, in 1812, the title descended to Mr. John Evelyn, the grandson of Charles, a younger son of the first baronet of the Wotton

branch.1

EVERARD (NICHOLAS), a very eminent lawyer, and upright magistrate, was born at Gripskerque, in the island of Walcheren, in 1462, and studied law at Louvain under Arnold de Bek, and Peter de Themis, whose praises for profound knowledge he has celebrated in his "Topica juris." In 1493 he took his doctor's degree, and acquired so much reputation that Erasmus, in a letter to Bernard Buchon, pronounces him a man born for the good and service of his country. Everard's first public situation was at Brussels, where he was appointed judge in ecclesiastical causes under Henry de Berg, bishop and prince of Cambray he was then, although not in any of the ecclesiastical orders, presented to the deanry of the collegiate church of St. Peter of Anderlechten, in that city. In 1505 being invited to Mechlin, he was first appointed assessor of the grand Belgic council, and afterwards left that place to become president of the supreme council of Holland and Zealand. During the eighteen years that he executed this important trust, his whole conduct was so marked by profound knowledge, and upright decision, that in 1528, the emperor Charles V, recalled him to Mechlin to exercise the same functions. All who speak of him represent him as a man totally uninfluenced by any interest, or motives of favour, who admitted no solicitations from power or friendship, and administered strict justice without ever giving the laws an inclination that they did not fairly bear, whether the party concerned was poor or rich. He died at Mechlin, Aug. 9, 1532, in his seventieth year. His works were, 1. Topica juris, sive loci argumentorum legales," of which he printed the first part or century, at Louvain, in 1516, fol. This he afterwards reviewed and enlarged, and it was published by his sons in 1552, at Louvain, and reprinted in 1568 and 1579, at Lyons, and in 1591 at Francfort. It was afterwards abridged by Abraham Marconet, and published in that form at Magdeburgh, 1655, 12mo. 2. "Consilia, sive responsa juris," Lou

1 Biog. Brit, MS. belonging to the family.-Betham's Baronetage,